By Jake Donovan
Reigning 115 lb. titlist Kohei Kono of Japan will face countryman Koki Kameda this summer at a location to be determined in the United States. The fight is a potential history-making moment for Japan – despite the fight not being able to take place in country – and also leaves unbeaten contender Rex Tso out in the cold.
Kono (30-8-1, 13KOs) confirmed to media in Japan that Kameda is on his radar, and that he’s already begun training while awaiting an official fight date. The 34-year old will make the second defense of the belt he reclaimed last March, fighting in the U.S. for the first time in his near 15-year career.
The bout comes in a drastic change in plans for the two-time 115 lb. titlist, who was previously linked to a July 18 showdown with Tso (16-0, 9KOs) on a Top Rank show in Macao, China. Headlining the July 18 show, Mickey Bey will defend his lightweight title versus Denis Shafikov, while Brian Viloria appears against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
It was hoped that Kono-Tso would also land on the card, as Top Rank has been known in the past to offer strong undercards in Macao, in the absence of a blockbuster headliner like Manny Pacquaio. Tso has fought his last seven fights in Macao after previously becoming an attraction in his hometown of Hong Kong. It’s very possible his next fight lands on the card; it just won’t be for a major title.
Kono has never fought outside of Japan, but a showdown with Kameda would be far more lucrative, regardless of where it takes place. Such a fight would have been huge in Japan, but is forced to take place elsewhere as long as the Kameda family – Koki, Daiki and Tomoki – remains banned from fighting in country due to past controversial history.
Kameda (33-1, 18KOs) ended a near year-long ring hiatus with a tune-up win over Omar Salado last November. The bout was his first in the 115 lb. weight class, also serving as his debut in the United States. The moment served in chief support to younger brother Tomoki, who claimed a12-round win over Alejandro ‘Payasito’ Hernandez in his last successful title defense.
The Kameda family twice made history by first becoming the only trio of brothers to win major titles and then to all simultaneously serve as a beltholder, both instances coming a month apart in 2013.
Alas, the fighting family is now without a belt among the three brothers. Daiki was forced to vacate his 115 lb. in Dec. '13, dropping a close decision to an overweight Liborio Solis, thus rendering the title vacant; Koki abandoned his bantamweight title last year; and Tomoki was forced to vacate his bantamweight belt prior to his eventual split decision loss to Jamie McDonnell earlier this month in Hidalgo, Texas.
Koki’s eventual clash with Kono will be the family’s first shot at reclaiming title status. It also gives Kameda a chance to become the first ever fighter from Japan to win a title in four separate weight classes. He became the first to do so in 2010, winning a bantamweight belt (albeit a secondary version) which he defended eight times prior to vacating and deciding to drop in weight.
The feat has since been matched by Kazuto Ioka, the former 105 lb. and 108 lb. titlist who claimed a flyweight belt on his second try after outpointing Juan Carlos Reveco last month in Japan.
All of Kameda’s title fights have taken place in Japan, but a ban on the family’s gym also resulted in revocation of their boxing licenses in the eyes of the Japanese Boxing Commission. Kameda – who like his brother Tomoki is signed by adviser Al Haymon – will likely face Kono in a future edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) once a TV date and location are secured.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
